Monthly Archives: February 2017

CNA2017 is excited to welcome Laura Dawson to the stage as its lunch keynote speaker on Thursday, February 23.

Laura is the Director of the Canada Institute. Named one of Canada’s Top 100 foreign policy influencers by the Hill Times in 2014, Laura is a speaker, writer, and thought leader on Canada-U.S., NAFTA, TPP, and international trade issues. Previously, she served as the senior advisor on economic affairs at the United States Embassy in Ottawa and taught international trade and Canada-U.S. relations at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs. Laura continues to serve as Emeritus Advisor at Dawson Strategic, which provides advice to business on cross-border trade, market access and regulatory issues. She is a Fellow at the Canadian Defence & Foreign Affairs Institute and serves on the board of the Council of the Great Lakes Region.

Environmental Defence has a new online campaign in which they are trying to pin the blame for Ontario’s electricity costs on nuclear, while at the same time ignoring nuclear’s role in helping Ontario’s landmark achievement of ending coal-fired electricity generation.

These alternative facts have been discredited by many, including the findings of Ontario’s Auditor General’s 2015 report on electric power system planning.

On electricity prices, the low cost of nuclear was recently highlighted in a news release from the Ontario Energy Board, which indicated nuclear accounted for only 38 per cent of the Global Adjustment while generating 59 per cent of the electricity.
In 2016, nuclear power generated 61% of Ontario’s electricity at well below the amounts paid to other generators. In fact, the average price of nuclear was 6.6 cents per kWh compared to the average residential price of 11 cents per kWh.

Wind and solar make up a small amount of Ontario’s electricity bill because they make up a small amount of Ontario’s electricity grid. Wind generated only six per cent of Ontario’s electricity in 2016 and solar less than one per cent. Despite this modest output, wind and solar nevertheless accounted for 26 per cent of the Global Adjustment.

There is a myth that, due to the capital investments required in nuclear power, the consequence is a high price of power. This simply isn’t true. That’s because nuclear facilities operate for decades and generate large volumes of electricity on a consistent basis. Ontario’s nuclear facilities have a demonstrated track-record of high reliability. That’s why the province is reinvesting in them now.

Environmental Defence has also failed to mention nuclear’s important role in Ontario’s phase-out of coal in 2014 and ending smog days across the province, suggesting it was new wind and solar alone that got the job done.

A fact check would show that between 2000 and 2013, nuclear-powered electrical generation rose 20 percent in Ontario, coinciding with a 27 percent drop in coal-fired electricity. During the same period, non-hydro renewables increased to 3.4 percent from one percent. This major transition to a cleaner Ontario could not have happened without nuclear.

During that period, Bruce Power doubled its fleet of operating reactors from four to eight, becoming the world’s largest nuclear generating station. While more renewable energy did come on line, Bruce Power estimates they provided 70% of the carbon free energy needed to replace the power from the shutdown of coal plants.

The long-term investment programs currently underway across Ontario’s nuclear fleet, including Pickering, Darlington and Bruce Power, will secure this low-cost source of electricity over the long-term, while meeting our needs today.

Nuclear-generated electricity was the right choice for Ontario decades ago. It remains the right choice today.

OPG and Bruce Power recognize the cost of electricity for Ontario families and businesses is an important issue across the Province. Both companies are committed to clean air and continuing to provide low cost electricity for Ontario homes and businesses in the short, medium and long-term.

On Thursday, February 23, at 4:00pm, Joel-Denis Bellavance, Susan Delacourt and Timothy Powers will gather onstage at CNA2017 to discuss clean technology and power politics.

Joel-Denis Bellavance is the Ottawa bureau chief for La Presse. He has worked for the French-language newspaper since 2003 and has been reporting on the Hill for over 22 years. In June of 2016, Joel-Denis received the prestigious Charles-Lynch award, which each year recognizes a parliamentarian journalist for their professional accomplishments.

Susan Delacourt is a senior writer at the Toronto Star. Previously she was the senior political writer at the National Post, a columnist and feature writer at the Ottawa Citizen, and a parliamentary correspondent at the Globe and Mail. She received the Charles-Lynch award in 2011, was named one of “The Top 100 Most Influential People in Government and Politics” by the Hill Times in 2012, and has published four book on Canadian politics.

Timothy (Tim) Powers is the Vice-Chairman of Summa Strategies. Tim has served as an advisor to a national party leader and federal cabinet ministers, was an aboriginal affairs negotiator for the federal government, acted as a private consultant to groups involved in the Voisey’s Bay development, and has written extensively on the Innu of Davis Inlet, Labrador.